Danielle Moonstar/Mirage Appreciation 2023

[Arachne]

I think that's it exactly, Sutekh.

I read Realms of X #4. I was expecting to be excited or depressed by the end, but it was just mediocre. I did get a new avi, though.

[Soulsword323]

Haven't had the chance to read it for myself, but it seems as if Realms of X was kind of a dud. Hate to hear that.

I'm a broken record at this point, but I'm going to continue to put it out there in the universe: would love for Dani to be on a flagship title. Hopefully this change in regime will allow Moonstar to finally break free from the New Mutants (love them together, but it's time for change).

[Sutekh]

Haven't had the chance to read it for myself, but it seems as if Realms of X was kind of a dud. Hate to hear that.

I'm a broken record at this point, but I'm going to continue to put it out there in the universe: would love for Dani to be on a flagship title. Hopefully this change in regime will allow Moonstar to finally break free from the New Mutants (love them together, but it's time for change).

Roberto, Ilyanna and Rahne have proven they can function independently, even Sam and Doug, perhaps, Dani (and Xuan) really needs a chance to shine outside the old group, perhaps in a revival of those all-lady Defenders, just with her being allowed to take on a larger role than one of Misty and Valkyrie's sidechicks.

[rf2044]

Some writers seem to want super-powers to work like a video game, where you can shoot someone fifty times before they fall down, which is something that 'works' with zappy powers like psi-arrows, but powers like Dani's fear powers or Karma's mind control are more binary. You get hit, you fall down. End of combat. (Or you get hit, and you resist it, and no effect. Either way, it's binary and over fast.)

The overuse, IMO, of single big villains, which makes powers like Dani's either 'too good' (because she'd end the fight the second she used her power) or totally useless (because the Big Bad if, of course, going to be one of the zillion people who are immune or resistant to her power), tends to make her power annoying to those writers. If the Big Bad had a ton of lesser minions or if the team was fighting *another team,* then it would be fine for Dani (or Karma, or whomever) to be able to point and totally take out one of more of these lower-tier threats, but having such an effective 'big gun' means that she'll never be allowed to have it work as more than a distraction or annoyance on a big threat like Belasco or the Enchantress or Selene or Stryfe.

And so she's stuck using psi-arrows, because the writer 'gets' the idea of bad guys having 'hit points' and blasty powers whittling away hit points, and shy away from powers that could actually end fights 'too quickly.'

Sutekh, great post. Couldn't agree more.

And I really like your "hit points" analogy. Ultimately, I think that Dani's powers are too difficult for many writers to wrap their heads around, so they just default down to the most combat ready application [the psi-arrows], and largely ignore the rest.

But I also agree with you 100% about how powerful her powers are. I had a post earlier this year where I laid out how her powers were outlined in the old Marvel Superheroes RPG game, and they were potent as hell. I think you are totally on-target when you posit that she can take down boss villains [or at the very least, incapacitate them] fairly quickly, given how her powers are defined. I also concede that some cosmic-level opponents would be better suited to resist her abilities -- no argument there. But as you correctly point out, Dani is someone who could take down a big bad quickly, incapacitating them in one round of action.

[rf2044]

Haven't had the chance to read it for myself, but it seems as if Realms of X was kind of a dud. Hate to hear that.

I'm a broken record at this point, but I'm going to continue to put it out there in the universe: would love for Dani to be on a flagship title. Hopefully this change in regime will allow Moonstar to finally break free from the New Mutants (love them together, but it's time for change).

Ditto! Your post made me go search out an image I came across a few weeks ago:

my_avengers_dream_team__by_sebcarey_daletuj-414w-2x.jpg

Now, I'm not advocating the lineup that artist proposes, but it would be GREAT to see her land in a prominent title AWAY from the X-Books, which haven't done her justice in a LONG time. And with the concerted focus on representation / diversity in the comics, I have to believe that Dani is a prime candidate for a little more prominence. She's ready to be called up to the bigs!

And if the writer could throw in a new costume, that would be appreciated, as well!

[rf2044]

Also, had this article pop into my comics-related newsfeed earlier this week. The article contained an interview with Josh Boone, the director of the New Mutants film from 2020. Normally, I wouldn't have cared much, but the video indicated that Boone discussed "...his thought process of portraying each character, culturally accurate casting, and so much more."

So I gave it a watch. I was surprised to see that it was from 2020, and apparently from before the film came out. Given what he had to say, I'm not sure that he hit the mark. But it was interesting to hear his though process on some of these topics, and think about how the execution ended up being [or missing the mark entirely] through the lens of hindsight.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/video/jo...-NQ9sV-3r8za_a

[rf2044]

Roberto, Ilyanna and Rahne have proven they can function independently, even Sam and Doug, perhaps, Dani (and Xuan) really needs a chance to shine outside the old group, perhaps in a revival of those all-lady Defenders, just with her being allowed to take on a larger role than one of Misty and Valkyrie's sidechicks.

Fearless Defenders was so disappointing -- cool concept, lousy writing. And Dani was relegated to being a background player in a large cast for the first time in her published career. Completely misued.

It was as if the only reason she was initially included was because she was a Valkyrie, and then she was an afterthought to the rest of the tale.

But her intro scene was cool:

1.jpg

1.5.jpg

2.jpg

[wlfking]

Also, had this article pop into my comics-related newsfeed earlier this week. The article contained an interview with Josh Boone, the director of the New Mutants film from 2020. Normally, I wouldn't have cared much, but the video indicated that Boone discussed "...his thought process of portraying each character, culturally accurate casting, and so much more."

So I gave it a watch. I was surprised to see that it was from 2020, and apparently from before the film came out. Given what he had to say, I'm not sure that he hit the mark. But it was interesting to hear his though process on some of these topics, and think about how the execution ended up being [or missing the mark entirely] through the lens of hindsight.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/video/jo...-NQ9sV-3r8za_a

Yeah. I don't want to get super negative. I don't think most people who create things want to do a bad job at it but . . . uh. Yeah.
I can't even put into words what exactly was wrong with Dani's characterization in that movie but it just seemed off in every. Their take on Sam honestly probably bothers me more that any of the others. Ugh.

Roberto's more superficial traits transferred into the movie Ok. And of course there is the skin tone thing with him and Cecilia. (one of the few comics I had as a kid was actually one where she first showed up at the X-Mansion)

Rahne is probably the most decent though I think her flashbacks showed her in Catholic style church while she is actually Presbyterianism.

And as I've mentioned before, I watched this movie before giving the source material a shot and hardly new any of these characters. So I'm like, "retrospectively upset" about all this!

[wlfking]

Ditto! Your post made me go search out an image I came across a few weeks ago:

my_avengers_dream_team__by_sebcarey_daletuj-414w-2x.jpg

Now, I'm not advocating the lineup that artist proposes, but it would be GREAT to see her land in a prominent title AWAY from the X-Books, which haven't done her justice in a LONG time. And with the concerted focus on representation / diversity in the comics, I have to believe that Dani is a prime candidate for a little more prominence. She's ready to be called up to the bigs!

And if the writer could throw in a new costume, that would be appreciated, as well!

*chuckles* Well. I'm almost as indifferent as possible on all the characters there except Kamala and Dani who I think are both terrific. But . . .if I learned one thing from that last Hellions book, it's that you never know what team might work out. (and I'm not even the biggest fan of that book)

I'm all in favor of Dani going where ever she needs to in order to get the spotlight she deserves.

[Arachne]

Ditto! Your post made me go search out an image I came across a few weeks ago:

my_avengers_dream_team__by_sebcarey_daletuj-414w-2x.jpg

Now, I'm not advocating the lineup that artist proposes, but it would be GREAT to see her land in a prominent title AWAY from the X-Books, which haven't done her justice in a LONG time. And with the concerted focus on representation / diversity in the comics, I have to believe that Dani is a prime candidate for a little more prominence. She's ready to be called up to the bigs!

And if the writer could throw in a new costume, that would be appreciated, as well!

Replace Quentin with Nova and that would be a damn good lineup.

[rf2044]

Haven't had the chance to read it for myself, but it seems as if Realms of X was kind of a dud. Hate to hear that.

I'm a broken record at this point, but I'm going to continue to put it out there in the universe: would love for Dani to be on a flagship title. Hopefully this change in regime will allow Moonstar to finally break free from the New Mutants (love them together, but it's time for change).

It's ESPECIALLY time for a change if Marvel can't figure out WHAT to do with the New Mutants.

Seriously -- what was the point of volume 4? To float a bunch of new characters, with the NM's nominally overseeing them?

[The Cool Thatguy]

The problem with the movie was that they were trying to adapt a story that required 2 years of setup in the comic.

The problem with comics now, is that frankly, the inmates run the asylum, and change is virtually impossible. They use the same characters they've always used plus a pet character and that's about it.

They rely on the popularity of existing characters instead of attempting to push 2nd stringers into the spotlight, and then act surprised when people have muted reactions to the same character that's always been there and has never gone away!

It's barely a step above fanfic, IMO

[wlfking]

The problem with the movie was that they were trying to adapt a story that required 2 years of setup in the comic.

The problem with comics now, is that frankly, the inmates run the asylum, and change is virtually impossible. They use the same characters they've always used plus a pet character and that's about it.

They rely on the popularity of existing characters instead of attempting to push 2nd stringers into the spotlight, and then act surprised when people have muted reactions to the same character that's always been there and has never gone away!

It's barely a step above fanfic, IMO

To be fair. When I finally started to buy and read comics I didn't pick up an X-men book because the ones I knew from the "cartoons" weren't all together at the time. (around 2014-2015) I also ran into some financial issues and would drop the books I was following, then pick them up again later so I like to think I would have eventually started following X-Men books if not for these "interruptions." I have come to love a lot of these lesser known characters and even for ones I don't care for, seeing that they have fans kinda makes me want the best for them just so their fans can be happy.

[Arachne]

It's ESPECIALLY time for a change if Marvel can't figure out WHAT to do with the New Mutants.

Seriously -- what was the point of volume 4? To float a bunch of new characters, with the NM's nominally overseeing them?

True. Ayala did the best they could, I think, but even that premise wasn't there when the book started. I can't imagine what Hickman was thinking when he came up with that title.

Time to break the team up, imo. No more than two members on a single team, and let some other characters take over teaching.

The problem with the movie was that they were trying to adapt a story that required 2 years of setup in the comic.

The problem with comics now, is that frankly, the inmates run the asylum, and change is virtually impossible. They use the same characters they've always used plus a pet character and that's about it.

They rely on the popularity of existing characters instead of attempting to push 2nd stringers into the spotlight, and then act surprised when people have muted reactions to the same character that's always been there and has never gone away!

It's barely a step above fanfic, IMO

Sometimes the fanfic is actually better than the comics...

Dani amigurumi update: The yarn should arrive on Tuesday. I ordered a few different skin tone yarns, and I may post pics to help choose which one's best for Dani. Although it's hard to judge colors on a screen -- that's why I ordered some different shades in the first place. I've decided not to use a prewritten pattern, so I've spent my craft time for the last 4 days at war with a ball of yarn for the prototype doll. I've never seen such an ungodly mess of a tangle in my life. Hopefully, I'll have the base pattern done by the time the other yarn arrives.

[Devaishwarya]

Goddess knows I love my Darkchylde Archmage and love that she might be getting some spotlight next year (if the rumours pan out) but...I really wish someone would give Dani some major shine and direction and development. When last was she the central driving character of a story, any story?